Why We're Paying Top Dollar for Our DSL Circuits

Dave Aiello wrote, "Although CTDATA uses T-1s to connect its servers to the Internet, the connections we have in our offices themselves are Symmetric DSL (SDSL). We use UUnet, a unit of Worldcom, as our ISP for DSL circuits."

"For a while now, we have considered switching to a less expensive ISP. But, we have decided not to do so, in light of the problems that Covad Communications has had collecting from ISPs that provide very low cost DSL services. This strategy is validated by reports on News.com that the Santa Clara (CA) County Superior Court ruled that Covad was within its rights to deprive DSLnetworks of service because they failed to pay bills presented by Covad."

"There is no doubt that this will continue to be a major issue in the market going forward. We should expect Competitive Local Exchange Carriers like Covad to refuse service to other delinquent ISPs in the future. Some of those ISPs will not be able to come up with the resources to pay past due bills."

Dave Aiello continued:

The risk of doing business with Covad will remain high for the foreseeable future, due to the possibility of Covad's own bankrupcy. But, the most likely short term scenario, in my opinion, is that Covad walks away from customers who are using delinquent ISPs.

Therefore, we urge our clients who have individually arranged DSL contracts to evaluate the credit-worthiness of their ISPs. You should change ISPs as soon as possible, if your ISP is not current on its payments to Covad.